But her dreams are cruelly shattered by a bomb blast that leaves her badly scarred. Suddenly her career’s in ruins and her long-term boyfriend is gone. Plagued by the paparazzi, she flees to Cornwall where she meets and falls in love with her handsome neighbour, blind crime novelist, Alan Murray. As a new life starts to fall into place, her former boss threatens to tell Alan about her past indiscretions unless Lynn agrees to become one of his porn stars. She refuses and is miraculously saved from exposure when her boss ends up taking a dive off a cliff. Relief doesn’t last long though as a series of unsettling incidents, leads Lynn to suspect that her novelist lover may not be all he claims to be … David Hodges’ latest crime thriller, Blast, again delivers the gritty realism that only an experienced ex-copper can provide. Praise for David Hodges… 'Extremely well-written and passionately described crime-scenes' - Mid Somerset Series 'Hodges uses the experience of 30-plus years in the job as an anvil of solid fact to beat out pacey tales of "canteen culture" cops' - Cheddar About the author: David Hodges is a former superintendent with Thames Valley Police, and is a prolific writer and the author of eight other crime novels, plus an autobiography on his life in the police service. He lives with his wife, Elizabeth, on the edge of the Somerset Levels where he can fully indulge his passion for thriller writing. He is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, The Crime Readers’ Association, The Society of Authors and International Thriller Writers Inc.

    He was the first to discover Australia and the Hawaiian Islands and the first to circumnavigate New Zealand. By the 1700s, England, eager to expand its realm of trade, promoted exploration of all the unclaimed regions of the world. The eighteenth century, the age of reason and enlightenment, required a new kind of explorer: not a rover or a plunderer or a seeker of adventure for its own sake, but a master of navigation and seamanship. Captain James Cook filled the bill. No one ever surpassed Cook's record. From South America to Australia, from the ice islands of the South Pacific to the fogbound Bering Strait, lay thousands of miles of islands, atolls, and ocean that Cook charted.

    In fact, he becomes the owner of two homes. One, a delightful Tudor cottage. The other, an ancient sepulchral cavern. The land on which they both stand a once sacred site in prehistory. Alistair’s practiced curiosity finds him meddling with things that should remain untouched. Cut off from the rest of the town by bad weather and sick with fever, he is tormented by something beyond the tangible world.

    At the height of their fame, The Nolan Sisters were one of the biggest acts around, touring with Frank Sinatra, performing at the Royal Variety Performance and travelling around the world to play for their adoring fans.Surrounded by a bevy of loving sisters, two protective brothers and parents who wanted to see their children succeed, how could Anne Nolan's childhood have been anything but idyllic? And yet behind the fairytale script - the fame and glitz lay hidden a dark family secret that has, until now, never been told.Anne's story - which starts in her birthplace Dublin and moves to the Northern club scene of Blackpool - tells of this other life - one that had to remain hidden, one of fear and pain that has cast a terrible shadow over her entire life. After so many years of silence, she has decided the time has come to speak of the brutal truth behind the carefully cultivated image, that was The Nolans.

    Set in the 1920s, it’s the first of a series of traditional murder mysteries featuring the amiable Detective Inspector Miles Felix of Scotland Yard and his shrewd but prickly assistant, Sergeant ‘Teddy’ Rattigan. It’s the spring of 1926. Following a macabre discovery, the Inspector investigates a fading aristocratic family where everyone seems to have a secret, even the servants.

    As Rob uses his skills as a historian to uncover the secret he finds his courage and determination tested and discovers that the difference between right and wrong is not as clearcut as he had thought.

     In this volume he relates the first four years of his outdoor odyssey, from his initial escapist trips, through his gradual move towards full-time outdoor living, to his decision to put the harsh British winters behind him and head off to the more benign climate of southern Spain. Sincere but light-hearted, this story recounts his experiences in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland, alongside the mental journey leading to his conviction that a conventional life is no longer for him, despite the well-meaning advice of his family and friends. The second and final part of Tony’s story will be available this winter.

    She rejects the outside world and embarks on a contented existence of isolated self-indulgence. But when her nice neighbours Fred and Geraldine introduce her to the roguishly desirable actor Finbar Flynn the walls of the citadel begin to crack . . .

    In this richly textured anthology, well-known scholar David Brackett brings together more than 100 readings from a wide range of sources and by writers who have played an integral part in the development of popular music criticism. Brackett includes articles from mainstream and specialized magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals, as well as interviews and autobiographies of musicians and other music industry insiders. Organized into broad time periods, the chapters are divided into sections by genre, and these sections are organized chronologically. The chapter divisions parallel those found most frequently in textbooks on popular music. Representing a wide variety of time periods, styles, and genres--and including groundbreaking criticism on disco, hip-hop, rap, and techno--the selections introduce students to important social and cultural issues raised by the study of popular music. Topics covered include the role of race, class conflict, gender roles, regional differences in the reception of popular music, and the relative value of artistry versus commerce. Extensive editorial introductions and headnotes supply context for the selections, provide links between different eras and genres, clarify the issues raised by the documents, and explain their historical significance. The second edition of this captivating anthology features eleven new source readings and introductions, further reading and discography selections for each chapter, and a companion website containing student and instructor resources.

    His profound and poetic speeches are famous around the world, evidence of the greatness of American’s most beloved leader. But did you know that the sixteenth president of the United States was also a backwoods hillbilly from America’s western frontier, with a Kentucky accent so thick you could cut it? Or that he liked wrestling matches, dirty jokes, and had a reputation for telling hilarious, R-rated stories that weren’t suitable for mixed company? From his childhood working as a virtual slave for an abusive father, to sailing a river raft to New Orleans, to the Illinois General Assembly, Congress, and the White House, the story of Abraham Lincoln’s life is the story of America. He mourned the deaths of almost everyone he loved, endured marriage to a wife whose mental health issues made her a domestic abuser, and lost more elections than he won. But Abraham Lincoln believed in one thing above all: that everyone deserved a fair shot at the American dream. Why did John Wilkes Booth really shoot Abraham Lincoln? The truth is as shocking now as it was in 1865.

    The beatings and subsequent murder made international news. This book was written by an investigative journalist who became extremely close to the families of the victims. WITH PHOTOS

    Heyer’s writing is lively, witty, and charming, and full of vividly realized characters and well researched historic locales. Simply put, she had no equal among her contemporaries. We have gathered Heyer’s first four novels and a short story together in this omnibus edition. There are 350,000 and over 950 pages of fantastically written romance fiction. Included are 'The Transformation of Philip Jettan', 'The Black Moth', 'The Great Roxhythe', 'Instead of the Thorn', and 'A Proposal To Cicely.'

     With the German Luftwaffe flying overhead, he had entered it in the midst of the Blitz. He would stay in Britain for the next four months. With his distinctive writing style, that would later earn him a Pulitzer Prize, he vividly depicts Great Britain in her darkest hour. With France defeated and America not yet in the war, the future did not look bright for Churchill’s country. Yet, as Pyle finds out, this was not a country resigned to defeat, instead it was carrying on as best it could, determined that it would not buckle under the pressure of Hitler’s aerial raids. He spends much time in London where he sees the city, “ringed and stabbed with fire,” but also travels the length and breadth of the country, from some areas that have hardly been affected like Edinburgh, to others like Coventry that suffered greatly under the bombardment. Pyle’s inquisitive nature leads him to spend time with dockworkers of Glasgow, R.A.F. pilots in a bomber station, miners of Wales, policemen of London and families across the nation to uncover how the ordinary men and women were coping under the pressure. Ernie Pyle in England is a fascinating account of Britain during one of its darkest periods, and how with amazing resilience the British people survived. Ernest Taylor Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist. As a roaming correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain he earned wide acclaim for his accounts of ordinary people, including the likes of Harry Truman. He was killed on Iejima in the Pacific theater of war during the Battle of Okinawa on April 18, 1945. This book was first published in 1941.

    Set against the dark backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, this luminous and infinitely inviting memoir traces the affecting stories of Rea and his hilarious and dynamic friends and teammates. Comprised primarily of ex-pats over the age of 35, Finn McCool's Football Club boasts a dynamic mix of idiosyncratic personalities. From Macca, the team's Scottish coach and a hard-drinking ex-professional player, to its outspoken South African landscape gardener/striker Benji, each character comes vibrantly to life in Rea's fresh and frank prose. Hilarious moments and poignant reflections shine with equal intensity throughout this multifarious work, which captures the individual experiences of the Finn's players in the wake of Katrina. A literary memoir, soccer story, and tale of survival and resolve, this work is an indefatigable tribute to a city and its residents who determined to play on after their lives were all but washed away.

    One day, she received a message from a stranger. This woman offered to lead her on a self-healing trip hiking through the Scottish highlands.It seemed like a sign—a big sister sent when she needed one most.In this sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, but always inspiring memoir, an introverted pollyanna is paired up with her polar opposite—a steamrolling, abrasive female with completely unorthodox healing methods. As they barrel through the winding one lane roads in a tiny rental car stopping to hike at breathtaking mountains and glens, an outrageous series of events forces Ninya to reclaim her power and find the strength to heal herself in one of the most beautiful places on earth.Readers of “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Wild” will love this memoir.